Tips On How To Keep Your Decollete Looking Gorgeous

It's that time of year again, when the first few sunny weekends of the year bring out the halter tops, sundresses and low-cut t-shirts. But some of us have been covered up for months wearing blouses and tops that come practically up to our chins. How do you make sure that your decollete (or chest area) is looking tip-top and how do you ensure it stays that way? Here are some great tips on how to look after one of the most important areas on a girl - your decollete frames your face and should be treated and looked after with just as much care.

Treat Your Chest As You Would Treat Your Face

• When your cleanse and moisturise your face make sure your follow the regime down to your chest area - the products you use on your face should be used on your chest - don't just rely on a lick of body lotion.
• If you prefer you can buy specialised creams for the chest which include nutrients specifically for this area. The skin is thinner here than on other parts of the body and is more inclined to line - look for products such as M Lab Lift Me Up cream which is specifically designed to treat this area.

Always(!) Protect Your Chest From The Sun

• Yes, we all love to have a golden glow around our chest area, especially for the summer, but don't be fooled, tan yourself too many times in this area and you will pay for it with discolouration and lines later on. There are fantastic fake tanning and bronzing products now - use them! Or - be braver and look to celebrities such as Scarlett or Angelina - how many times have you seen them with a tan?
• If you like to exercise ourdoors don't use it as an excuse to get a tan - make sure you cover up with a high neck exercise top specifically designed to wick sweat away from the body which will keep you cool, but which will also protect your chest area from the sun. Many of these sports tops now have sun-screens built in the fabric as well.  Avoid running and training tanks or sports bras.

Try Not Sleeping On Your Side

• Some people find this impossible, but especially if you are larger chested, sleeping on your side will cause vertical lines to appear on the chest area. You can wear a separating bra which will help this, but the best way to avoid this is to sleep on your back.
• If you want to avoid sleeping on your side try using pillows on each side of you when you go to sleep on your back. These should stop you from rolling over in the night.

Happy Summer Days :-)

How To Top Up Your Self Tan To Keep A Sunny Glow All Year Round

Yes, we've all been there, when we've had a self tan professionally applied, or we've carefully applied one at home (read here on how to apply a gorgeous streak free tan) and then a few days later it starts to get patchy. Dryer areas of skin tend to remain darker, whilst on other areas the tanning product will wear away more quickly giving a patchy look. Generally, the only answer to this is to soak in a bubble bath, and then exfoliate and moisturise all over to remove any remaining tanning product. Unfortunately, you are again at square one, more than likely looking lily white. So, is it possible to keep a year round glow topped up week by week without build up of too much colour? The answer is - yes it is, if you can keep to a few "golden" rules such as ...

• Many articles will tell you not to exfoliate once a fake tan is applied, however, we recommend using a body polisher or gentle body scrub when showering as this keeps dead skin cells at bay. Using these products may exfoliate away any dead skin cells with your self tan along with them, but it will stop the build up of dry skin in areas such as the base of the neck, the inside of elbows, knees and under the arms. Dry skin in these areas will collect more and more colour from tanning products and will end up giving you a patchy and almost "grubby" appearance.
• If you want to build into your daily routine an application of tanning product after your daily shower, or last thing at night, look for a good quality body moisturiser which incorporates a tanning product, such as St Tropez Everyday Body Lotion or Johnson's Holiday Skin. These types of products will not irritate your skin and will keep your skin glowing without too much build up.
• If you are using a full-on tanning product limit the re-applications to every 3 to 5 days, but on the days between applications carry on using your body polisher, but follow this up with a normal, good quality moisuriser to keep your skin's surface in tip-top condition.

How To Fade Away Freckles And Unwanted Brown Marks

Some of you may look at the above and say "Hey, I love my freckles - they are cute." And you would be right - freckles are indeed a sign of beauty, but for some too many brown marks or dark freckles on the face can be distressing. Sometimes it's a case of having spent too many hours sunbathing, or during pregnancy brown marks can appear on the face which do not totally disappear after the baby is born. Later on in life age spots can appear on hands and face - ie on areas which have sometimes been overexposed to the sun.

What Causes Freckles And Brown Marks On The Skin?

Freckles and age spots are caused by exposure to the sun - the easiest way to ensure you don't develop age spots later in life is to limit the time you spend in the sun - we're not saying don't enjoy your beach holidays BUT do make sure you use a good sunscreen of SPF 15 or preferably higher. You will still tan, but at a slower rate, without burning, which also prevents premature aging - yet another bonus.

How Can I Treat Freckles and Brown Marks Now?

If you have dark freckles or brown marks that you would like to fade away you can either wait and ensure that you wear a sun-screen all the time when outdoors, which means your freckles and brown marks will slowly fade away or you can try some of the following treatments:

• Glycolic acid - this is a treatment which can be carried out at either a salon (where the treatment used will be slightly stronger than that available for the home market) or you can purchase home treatment kits. Glycolic acid is derived from sugar cane and it's part of the Alpha Hydroxy Acid family (AHAs) which can be derived from fruits, plants and dairy products. It works when applied to your skin by breaking down the bond which keeps all the sticky, dead skins cells attached to the surface of your skin promoting shedding of the top layers, along with your freckles.
• Kojic acid is a natural product derived from mushrooms and was discovered in Japan in 1989. It is used to lighten skin discolourations and freckles and is a natural inhibitor of melanin production in the skin. It can be found in various skin creams and treatments for curing freckles and brown spots.
• Wash your face with sour milk - hmmm.. not to everyone's taste, but the milk does contain lactic acid which will encourage gentle peeling without irritating or drying your skin.
• Make your own fruit mask by mixing together peaches, strawberries, papaya, honey and enough oatmeal to make a paste. Leave the mask on for 10 minutes and the fruit acids will attack and remove your dead skin cells along with any freckles and marks - when washed off you will have a smooth and hydrated glowing skin.
• Along with these treatments, make sure you use sunscreens and facecreams with a minimum SPF 15 so all your hard work isn't wasted.

If you have any remedies for fading freckles or sun-spots let us know by sharing at fashion-Tips.

How To Apply Self Tan For A Perfect Finish

Applying a fake tan which doesn't look false or streaky has been discussed time and again, but there really are some tips which must be followed to create a natural and golden tanned appearance. How much more sensible is it to apply a self tanning cream and save yourself from the ageing effects of a real tan? Also if you haven't been lucky enough to visit any sunnier shores for a while, its pretty unlikely with this year's grey skies that you will be able to achieve that desirable all over golden glow.

When Is The Best Time To Apply A Self Tan?

• The best time to plan a self tan application is a quiet mid week evening - that way you will have a great tan for the weekend if you are going out and it will allow time for the tan to dry if you are chilling at home.

What Is The Best Way To Prepare Your Skin For Self Tanning?

• Preferably have a shower rather than a bath as you will need to exfoliate which is much more effective in the shower where you can use a body polish, body buff or scrub to sluice away all those nasty dry skin cells which are going to ruin your smooth golden finish if not removed.
• Next when your skin is towel dried but still slightly damp from the shower, apply your favourite body moisturiser, using one which will soak into your skin rather than a richer, greasier type which will stay in a layer on your skin's surface. Make sure you pay attention to (working your way up) your heels, ankles, the front of your shins, knees, backs of hands, and elbows, ie anywhere your skin is likely to be dryer than the rest.

Applying Your Self Tan Product

• Next is the fun part - applying your fake tan. As well as many different brands in different price ranges, there are also a number of different varieties of self tanning products such as tanning lotions, mousses and sprays.  All of these are also available in tinted versions to help you see where you have applied the product.
• Whichever is your preference, working your way up apply your tanning product as evenly as your can all over yourself - if you are going to apply self tan to your back you will either need a friend to help you, use one of the applicator sponges which are available with a long handle or use a spray which will work at any angle.  The any angle sprays are pretty good, but you need to be careful you don't end up tanning your bathroom walls.
• If you are using a facial tanning product this also needs to be applied at this time, avoiding your hairline and eyebrows. Also be wary of applying it in the creases around your nose as this is a place excess tanning product can gather - any excess can be wiped away using a cotton-bud.

Make Sure You Remove Any Excess Product

• Once you are happy that you have applied everywhere, ensure that you wash the palms of your hands, including around your cuticles and also between your fingers.
• Using a damp flannel (only damp and not soaking wet) wipe any excess self tan from your toes, around the soles of your feet (brown soles look extremely odd), and from the creases in your elbows and under your arms. This will prevent tanning lotion gathering in these areas and creating darker brown areas.

Finishing Off

• Then ... relax - all the hard work is done and once your tanning product is dry I recommend dressing in some loose cotton clothing such as pyjamas which can be washed easily and chill.

The next day you should wake up with a healthy golden glow, which after another shower and application of moisturiser will look absolutely gorgeous.

Selected Self Tanning Products

If you have any fake tanning tips - or even disasters - it would be great to hear them.